The Day when Jordan B. Peterson spoke in Slovenia

Today was an interesting day. It’s been a day full of unknown opportunities, shrouded in the mist of if-questions (some of which were unknown unknowns).

The morning was vexingly strange. Even though I had known for some time that this Sunday was the day when Jordan Peterson was to give a lecture in Ljubljana, and it’s time, I somehow messed it up in the morning. Gladly in such a way, that I left one hour earlier. It’s undoubtedly better to be early than late; I got to meet some of the people whom I haven’t seen in years. But  there was one question lurking in the air around my head:”will I be able to make photos even though I was unable to acquire the PRESS accreditation or not?”… strangely enough nobody was able to give me a sufficient answer. So I stealthily grabbed my camera and went through the gates that opened the view to the big hall that was to house over a thousand people who were blessed enough to be able to get their hands on a ticket. (tickets sold out on the internet in about 30 minutes to an hour when they were made available: obviously when they were free of charge, and for this gift I’m incredibly grateful to Družina, a catholic organisation which organized the event. Thank you.) Luckily the rule for photography was very simple and sensible: everyone who wants to, can take photos in the first five minutes. 

The lecture was really good. I didn’t know, that Slovenia is the first country he has visited that used to be behind the iron curtain. It seems very fitting indeed that the gist of the message was focused on his thoughts surrounding evils of communism and the fall of soviet union, and how that can shape people; especially considering that this was a topic he spent a long time researching. Of course for someone like me, who has heard a lot of his lectures, some themes and stories were recurring. The obvious being about personal responsibility. What was striking, though, was his answer to one of the final questions in the Q&A section, albeit obvious in retrospect. The sum of questions that he in effect answered sounded something like this: “what can young people, young men, do in the 21st century, in a country that used to be communist and many people still look back yearning for those times (this is my condensation)?”

… His Answer, fittingly was something, that I think Slovenes need to hear, even though it’s embedded in his many other themes. That is to take personal responsibility for one self, to fix the immediate problems, even if starting with seemingly small stuff. That’s a good answer. And if I add to it, to not put responsibility for a problem you see onto someone else, but to carry it firmly and fix it by yourself. Or at least try. It’s okay to fail. Doing something poorly is better than doing nothing at all, or worse, doing something to counter it, in other words to make it worse… the latter being akin to creating more hell. 

When the lecture ended I thought this was it. I got what I came there for: a great lecture in person instead of on the screen, and a few photos. But this was not it. Luckily, hoping that was a possibility, I brought my copy of his book “12 Rules for life, antidote to chaos” with me. Lucky I did, because we were given a chance to get the book signed. 

Then another unforeseen (one of those unknown unknowns) opportunity offered itself. At around 17.00 there was a chance (but not certainty) that a short interview by my dear friend and colleague Benjamin Siter from DiŽ was to actually happen. So I patiently waited in Ljubljana for that to happen. Unfortunately, as it often happens, the “official” media took more time from his schedule than they had allotted (over an hour from 15-30 minute windows). So when Benjamin and I came to the Headquarters of Družina in Ljubljana, we were told that there’s a very very small chance of anything happening due to Jordan being very tired from all of the other interviews. Understandably so, media can be very annoying. 

But then almost a miracle happened. A lady, who was the last to have an interview with him, had no cameras with her and they took some time to just talk. You could see it on their faces (through the glass doors) that they fervently enjoyed their conversation. So it seems God opened the door for a very short interview between Jordan and Benjamin, which I had the privilege to photograph.

To top it all off, even though he was very tired, he let us get a photo with him. I would have totally understood him declining. I am incredibly thankful and grateful though for this opportunity.

This day was, among other days a testament to how far a humble and prayerful attitude, coupled with a hopeful, firm and patient persistence can get you.  

Thank you, Jordan, for visiting Slovenia. For standing for the truth, for the Logos and for giving people, especially young men, hope and above all tools to not only cope but to clean up their own lives and fix the world by fixing small things first in their room, then in their family and hopefully then in their neighborhood. And above all thank you for the spark of interest into biblical world, that you have given to the minds of young men all over the world. Blessings to you, and to write it properly if I didn’t say it well in person, so that wherever you go and tell the truth and speak on things, people will hear it and seek it themselves as well. May The Truth in the Logos who Created it all truly set people free. 

 

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